'Nimblewill Nomad,' 83, is oldest to hike Appalachian Trail

PORTLAND, Maine – An 83-year-old from Alabama started walking erstwhile helium retired much than a quarter-century agone — and ne'er stopped.

M.J. “Sunny” Eberhart, 83, of Alabama, strode into the grounds books Sunday arsenic the oldest hiker to implicit the Appalachian Trail.

Eberhart, known by the way sanction Nimblewill Nomad, acknowledged that contempt having tens of thousands of miles nether his belt, the way was pugnacious going astatine his age, starring to rather a fewer spills connected slippery rocks.

“I’ve a got a mates of skid marks connected me, but I’m OK,” helium said successful a caller interview. “You’ve got to person an unthinkable resoluteness to bash this.”

He hiked the way retired of order, successful sections, to instrumentality vantage of optimal weather, and had already completed bluish sections including Maine’s Mount Katahdin. He completed his last conception successful occidental Massachusetts, successful the municipality of Dalton, successful the aforesaid twelvemonth successful which a 5-year-old became among the youngest to implicit the feat.

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Joining Eberhart for the decorativeness was the erstwhile grounds holder, Dale “Greybeard” Sanders, who lives extracurricular Memphis, Tennessee. He completed the hike astatine property 82 successful 2017. He’s not bittersweet to spot the grounds fall.

“My beloved person Nimblewill is taking my grounds distant from me, and I’m blessed for him. Records are made to beryllium broken,” Sanders said.

Sanders confirmed the completion of the feat arsenic Eberhart was toasted with Champagne astatine a friend’s house.

Jordan Bowman, of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy successful Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, confirmed that Eberhart is the oldest to decorativeness the trail, surpassing Sanders.

Eberhart began his wanderlust successful earnest aft retiring arsenic an optometrist successful Florida successful 1993.

The antheral with flowing locks and an awesome beard really hiked farther than astir who traverse the 2,193-mile (3,530-kilometer) way that runs betwixt Georgia's Springer Mountain and Maine’s Katahdin. He started his hike successful February astatine his location successful Flagg Mountain, Alabama, adding hundreds of other miles to the route.

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The travel represented a humble distance, comparatively speaking, for a feline who trekked 4,400 miles (7,080 kilometers) from the Florida Keys to bluish Quebec, an escapade helium chronicled successful a book, “Ten Million Steps.” He aboriginal hiked from Newfoundland to Florida, an adjacent greater distance. He besides walked from Chicago to California connected Route 66.

He said helium was feeling his property connected this hike. His reflexes aren’t what they erstwhile were, truthful helium tried to bounds himself to 8 hours of hiking a day.

But helium inactive got banged up.

On a caller time successful New Hampshire, helium took a tumble and bloodied his elbow. A hiking companion asked if helium wanted to instrumentality a break.

Eberhart retorted, “Do you deliberation if I kick astir it it volition spell away?” earlier picking himself and pressing onward, said Odie Norman, of Huntsville, Alabama, who hiked 100 miles with Nimblewill.

Eberhart’s property puts him astatine the other utmost from a brace of young hikers who completed the way during the pandemic.

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A 4-year-old, Juniper Netteburg, finished her travel with her missionary parents past year, and a 5-year-old, Harvey Sutton, from Lynchburg, Virginia, completed the way with his parents successful August.

Eberhart really met Sutton, known arsenic Little Man, connected the trail. The youngster “impressed the dickens retired of me,” Eberhart said.

Eberhart hasn’t mislaid his tendency to support moving oregon to question the consciousness of calm that helium finds connected the way successful the institution of the tight-knit and divers hiking community.

His archetypal large hike coincided with a hunt for bid aft lugging affectional and intelligence baggage that progressive a divorcement and losing the respect of his children, helium said. He yet recovered his peace, and forgiveness.

“You tin question peace. That doesn’t mean that you’re going to find it. I persevered to the constituent that the bully Lord looked down connected maine and said you’re forgiven, you tin beryllium astatine peace,” helium said precocious during a interruption adjacent the Maine-New Hampshire border.

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“It’s a profound blessing. It’s arsenic elemental arsenic that,” helium said.

With the hike over, Eberhart volition instrumentality to his location astatine Flagg Mountain, the southernmost upland topping 1,000 feet successful the Appalachians, wherever helium serves arsenic caretaker of a occurrence operation and cabins built by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Norman, who publishes “The Hiker Yearbook," said Eberhart astir apt won't bent up his boots anytime soon.

“He said, ‘You cognize they’re calling this my last hike.’ Then helium laughed," Norman said. "I don’t deliberation it’s going to beryllium his past hike. I conscionable don’t deliberation helium knows what’s he's going to hike next.”

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Associated Press photojournalist Robert F. Bukaty contributed to this report.

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